Troll
In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion. In addition to the offending poster, the noun troll can also refer to the provocative message itself, as in "that was an excellent troll you posted". While the term troll and its associated action trolling are primarily associated with Internet discourse, media attention in recent years has made such labels highly subjective, with trolling being used to describe intentionally provocative actions outside of an online context. For example, recent media accounts have used the term troll to describe "a person who defaces internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families." Types Of Trolls On Topix, Trolls are numerous, less so on forums like Paleo Place and Imperial Palace. Such trolls come in many forms, as given below: Fanboys, which supposedly "worship" a person, animal, or other object, are the most common type. Fanboys are rarely dangerous to forums, and are simply annoying. Usually, in the Empire, Fanboys are either countered with scientific arguements, or ignored. Spammers advertise websites that they go to. Spammers can be human, although some are automated. These Trolls are usually hired by website owners and/or other trolls to promote certain content. Automated spam comes in two forms: CPU spam accounts, which are programmed by website owners to advertise websites, and Spam Bots, which are viruses that spam forums with computerized code. Flamers are the most common Trolls across the internet, and the second most common in the Empire. These are usually loners, and simply blast any user they see with insults. These are the most dangerous common Trolls. Hackers are the rarest kind of Troll, and the most dangerous. These Trolls are skilled with technology, and use computer programs to gain Admin rights. They can then damage the forum in any way that they desire. As well as being exceptionally dangerous and hard to deal with, Hackers are also almost impossible to detect until it is too late. Luckily, with sufficient speed, they can be dealt with before they do too much damage. Classification The members of the Empire have given trolls a classification scheme: *'Class 0': The weakest trolls. Their posts are usually very few and far between, and not very insulting. They are also nicknamed "Nibblers" as they "nibble" the forums. Example: Sakib Sucks Tsar vs Castle Barvo; Kinky Venusaur *'Class 1': Slightly stronger than Class 0, but with more annoying posts. Example: Spam Bot 1.0; Scottish Santa; The Clocks *'Class 2': These trolls are considered fairly annoying, as they irritate users to no end but still pose no risk to the forum. Example: Santa, Mattking (Formerly); I Hate T-Rex; Razor Jaws ''(''Formerly); *'Class 3': The same as Class 2, but post more often and are sometimes insulting. Example: Spam Bot 2.0; Blowers, Spinosaurus Claw *'Class 4': Moderately annoying. These trolls are considered a lower average troll. Some users try to chase them off. Example: ; Billy Joe Jack; Edaphosaurus *'Class 5': Very annoying and fairly dangerous trolls, capable of causing concern among users. Trolls that reach this height or higher are usually banned from forums. They are considered average trolls. Example: Kill Yourself; '' *'Class 6': Moderately powerful trolls, capable of causing concern among users and no longer able to be ignored. They are considered a higher-average troll. ''Example: Crispy Smith (Formerly); Evan; Psycho Spot (Not to be confused with the YouTube user) *'Class 7': Powerful and clever trolls, able to troll whole forums at a fairly fast rate. Some are capable of dominating forums after a while. Example: Basildon Pair; Forget Yourself; Carcharodontosaurus 101; The Experts Are Mistaken *'Class 8': Dangerous trolls, capable of dominating forums fairly quickly. They sometimes create minor empires. Example: Zero Persent Rong; pissin scot *'Class 9': Deadly trolls, capable of dominating forums very quickly. Some create temporary empires. They are sometimes considered elite trolls. Example: Ohyeah Spinogiganotosaurus; Mike Anderson *'Class 10': Fatal trolls, capable of dominating forums at an astonishing rate. They are considred elite trolls. Can create Empires to rule forums. Some have basic hacking skills. Example: Pincus Shain; Giganotosaurus Fan *'Class X': Hypertrolls, capable of dominating forums in minutes. They are the most powerfull class of troll known, and some have advanced hacking skills. Example: Aequitas the Eliberator Strengths, Solutions And Punishments Trolls can be dealt with in various ways. Some Admins and Moderators prefer to give trolls warnings, to give them a chance to change their ways. This sometimes works, but in the majority of cases, it does not: Trolls who rank from Class 0 to Class 5 trolls are usually ignored by normal users, with some able to be chased away. Some minor flame wars may errupt between the trolls and contributors. Moderators and Administrators may give them warnings. Some will change their ways, while others may be banned after a number of warnings have been issued. Trolls who rank Class 6 are usually no longer ignored. Normal forum users will attempt to chase them away, and vicious flame wars may errupt between the trolls and the contributors. They can usually be defeated after a while, and some change their ways. Moderators and Administrators usually give around 3 warnings, before banning Class 6 trolls. Trolls who rank from Class 7 to Class 9 can no longer be ignored by contributors. They are capable of causing moderate to near-severe damage to forums and websites. These trolls rarely change their ways, and those who do usually revert back to it after a while. Some of these trolls are capable of creating temporary empires to rule the forum, but these empires are short lived. Flame wars are likely to erupt between these Trolls and Contributors. They are difficult to defeat, but it can be done. Moderators and Administrators give a maximum of 3 warnings to these trolls, and usually end up banning them. Trolls who rank Class 10 require Global Moderators and Administrators to be dealt with. They are incredibly powerful, and can create empires to rule over a forum, or, in Trolltopia's case, several forum's at a time. Normal forum contributors are almost powerless to stop Class 10 trolls. Any flame wars started at these trolls usually end in the trolls being victorious. Global Moderators and Administrators rarely give any warnings to these trolls, instead opting for an imediate ban. Trolls who rank Class X require Administrators, or Forum Service Providers to be dealt with. They are treated with extreme caution, and require imediate action to be dealt with. Class X trolls are known as Hyper Trolls. They are the rarest type of troll, and some have advanced hacking skills. They are able to use advanced computer programs to gain admin rights on forums, and are then able to do as they wish with the site, including ban Moderators and Administrators, and destroy the entire site. They are also able to aquire the IP and Email address of other users. Flame Wars are totally ineffective against these trolls. In order to be dealt with, imediate action must be taken against these trolls. Only Administrators can deal with these trolls, and no warnings are ever given to them. They are able to take control of and hack a forum in minuets, and because of this, they must be permanently banned upon detection, to avoid damage to the forum. In the Prehistopia Incident, a Class X troll known as Aequitas the Eliberator managed to trick the assistant admin of Prehistopia into giving him admin rights. From there, he used a computer program to gain access to the hidden banning function, and banned all users, and destroyed the site, before Spinosaur King, the main administrator, figured out what was going on. It required Prehistopia's service provider, Xobor, to deal with him.